Parenting styles and coping strategies among patients with early detected and treated congenital hypothyroidism.

INTRODUCTION: Congenital hypothyroidism (CH), as any chronic disease, has an impact on the parent-child relationship and on the child's resources to cope with conflicting situations.

OBJECTIVES: To describe parenting styles according to the perception of children with CH and their coping strategies.

POPULATION AND METHODS: Children aged 9-10 years who had CH detected by newborn screening and had received adequate treatment and a group without CH (control group). The Argentine Coping Questionnaire, the Argentine Scale for the Perception of Parent Relations, and the comprehension subtest of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children III (WISC III) were used. Results were compared using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA).

RESULTS: Sixty children with CH were included; they perceived that their mothers exercised a strict control and that their fathers showed more acceptance. They sought more support and became paralyzed more often in conflicting situations than the 60 children without CH.

CONCLUSION: These findings may be associated with a higher level of dependence. They should be taken into consideration in CH care.